Sunday, 2 August 2015

Today's the Day - 3rd August

115
years ago: The Firestone Tyre and Rubber company was founded in Akron, Ohio
by Harvey Samuel Firestone and soon became a pioneer in the mass
production of motor vehicle tyres. Because of Harvey’s friendship with Henry Ford, the
company also became the original supplier to Ford Motor Company
automobiles. Firestone Tyres was sold to the Japanese Bridgestone
Corporation in 1988

Georgy Shonin

80
years ago: Today in 1935, Soviet/Ukrainian cosmonaut Georgy Shonin was
born. Considered a hero of the Soviet Union,
Georgy commanded the Soyuz 6
space mission which took place just 3 months after the US Apollo 11 moon
landing. He and crewman Valeri Kubasov undertook experiments in space
welding, testing 3 methods, namely using an electron beam, a low-pressure plasma
arc and a consumable electrode. Shonin died of heart failure in 1997.